Mydworth Mysteries - A Shot in the Dark (A Cosy Historical Mystery Series Book 1)

by Matthew Costello

  Kat saw Lord Tamworth wait, while Sergeant Timms scribbled all this down.

  “Anyway, soon as I got near the room, I heard voices – rather sinister voices.”

  “Sinister?” said Timms.

  “Nasty. Threatening. I pushed open our bedroom door – but the room was empty. The voices were coming from the dressing room next door. Door was closed, you see.”

  “Yes,” said Timms. “I see.”

  “I could tell something bad was up, straight away. Claudia here – well – it sounded like she was in pain. And, as I said, a man’s voice – angry. Harsh – you know?”

  “Yes, sir. Think I got that.”

  “So – something definitely amiss, no doubt about it. So, I grabbed the old Army revolver from my case, pulled open the dressing room door…”

  Kat was aware that by now the whole room had gone quiet. She could see the group of guests at the far end, glasses in hand, staring, eyes wide at this dramatic account.

  “And what exactly did you see, sir?”

  “Pretty dreadful sight, I can tell you! Claudia on the floor, sobbing her damn eyes out, terrible state. And two men in the room! One man still at my wife’s jewellery case, the other, tall, dark-haired fellow, already at the window, escaping! Just got the barest glimpse of him.”

  “Robbing you, is that what you suspected?”

  Timms does like the obvious questions, Kat thought.

  “Well what do you bloody think, man? Of course, robbing us! Chap had a case of my wife’s jewels in his hand,” Lord Tamworth carried on. “So, I pointed the old Webley at the fella in the room – and shouted at him – put your hands up or I shoot, something like that, don’t remember the exact words.”

  Kat felt Harry shift a bit, standing close.

  And she thought: My husband’s about to join this party.

  “Um, Cousin Reggie. Been a while, hmm? Oh, this is my wife, Kat.”

  Reggie and his wife now looked up at the two of them with even more confusion.

  “Hmm? Ah, yes – Harry. Right. Heard you were out East m’boy? You back then? What a night you picked!”

  “Well, yes. We’re just back, and I’m so terribly sorry this has happened to you. In Mydworth Manor, too. Whatever is the world coming to?”

  Kat watched Reggie nod at this bit of pleasantry in the midst of telling the police how a man happened to be shot in the head only minutes earlier.

  “But I was just wondering,” said Harry. “Handy thing that, having a gun. You always travel that way?”

  Now Kat caught Sergeant Timms look over, trusty notepad open, and – from his pursed lips – she could see he wasn’t thrilled that his line of questioning had been interrupted.

  “Well, yes. I mean heading up to London later in the week, and these days, so many desperate people there. Best to be safe than sorry, that’s what I say to dear Claudia here.”

  Kat also caught Lord Tamworth’s wife – this Claudia – nod. But the woman also looked rather directly at Harry.

  A little bit too directly, Kat thought.

  Timms cleared his throat.

  “So – you gave the man a warning?” he said, hoping to get the story going again.

  “Oh absolutely. Made it very damn clear what my intentions were. Stop or I’ll shoot!”

  “And what did he do?”

  “Totally ignored me! Bloody fool. Just stuffed the jewels in his pocket – scrambled for the window.”

  “And your wife, sir?”

  “Oh, I made sure Lady Tamworth was well out of the way. The first man already gone, down the damned trellis with half the jewels, the second now on the window sill, couldn’t let him get away, so I fired.”

  “At his head?” Timms asked.

  Again, asking the obvious.

  “Why yes. Outside of his hands holding on for dear life, it was about the only target, I’m afraid.”

  “Hit him then, that first shot, m’lord?”

  Reggie nodded. A small smile. “Picked up quite a reputation as a marksman during the war, don’t you know.”

  Kat saw Harry look at her. Something about this… interesting him.

  “And the other shots?”

  Claudia opened her mouth as if about to speak, but her husband hurried on.

  “I ran to the window, obviously. The man I’d shot now lay on the ground, but this other chap who’d grabbed a case too, he was down there on the lawn, racing through the garden.”

  “You had no doubt that this second man had your jewels as well?” Timms said.

  “None at all. Know what my wife’s jewellery cases look like, obviously.”

  “So, between them – I imagine these two fellows got away with quite a haul, sir?” said Timms.

  At this point, Kat saw Claudia start to sob.

  “That first man had nearly everything,” said Claudia. “Everything.”

  Reggie put a hand on her knee, patted gently.

  “Yes – all gone.”

  “How terribly distressing for you both,” said Harry. “I wonder – just curious – do you always travel with the jewellery?”

  “Good Lord no,” said Reggie. “But you see – we’re staying here en route to the State banquet for the King and Queen of Afghanistan, on Tuesday. Had to bring the sparklers. All stops out for that event. Buck Pal! Tails, tiaras, the whole caboodle.”

  Kat had a question as this tale unfolded.

  Actually, she had a few questions rumbling around in her head. But with Harry and the sergeant already at it, she bided her time.

  “Indeed. And those jewels – I imagine – are very valuable” Harry asked, sounding perfectly casual.

  Lady Tamworth answered this time, only two words but said with a grim solemnity.

  “A fortune.”

  “Fortune,” said Timms, speaking as he wrote in his notebook. “I don’t suppose you could elaborate, m’lord? M’lady?”

  Kat saw Reggie look at Claudia who shrugged, then put her head in her hands.

  “Hmm,” said Reggie. “Both cases. Tiaras. Necklaces. Ear-rings. Diamonds all of ’em!”

  “Bearing in mind, sir, we will be able to recover one of the cases,” said Timms.

  “Ah yes, of course. The other case. At a guess – ten thousand.”

  “Ten thousand pounds, sir?” said Timms, nearly dropping his notebook.

  “Guineas, of course.”

  Kat realised the whole room had gone quiet. Hardly surprising. The figure – immense. No wonder Lord Tamworth had pulled a gun on the thieves.

  She looked at Harry, who gave a barely perceptible raise of the eyebrows.

  She wondered if he had the same thought she did.

  This was no casual robbery.

  This must have been planned. Somebody knew the jewels were going to be there.

  A professional job, for sure.

  7. Questions Over

  “What about this other man – the one who got away?” asked Harry. “Did you get a good look at him?”

  “Yes,” Timms concurred, jumping in, “what of him?”

  Kat knew what they were both thinking. A manhunt needed organising – but first, they needed a description.

  “Dashed away into the darkness. Fired as best I could. But he zigged, zagged, this way, that! And nearly impossible to see.”

  Finally, Kat couldn’t resist.

  “But you did somehow fire at the statue. That I was crouched behind.”

  “Ah, I see. That was you was it? Hmm. Terribly sorry, my dear. In the darkness, saw a bit of movement there, and thought the blaggard had maybe taken refuge behind the statue. Hope it didn’t give you a fright?”

  Made some sense, Kat thought, though it seemed to her that – for a marksman – those shots were going all over the place.

  “Not at all, Lord Tamworth.”

  “Reggie, please,” he said, smiling at her.

  “And you didn’t recognise the man, sir?” said Timms. “Never seen him before?”

  Reggie seemed to
think about that, then: “No, don’t think so.”

  Then he turned to his wife: “My dear?”

  “No, never,” she said, shaking her head: “Tall. Horrible man. Dark hair.”

  “Age?” asked Timms. “Young? Old?”

  Kat saw Reggie and Claudia shrug and look to each other.

  “Only got the briefest glimpse of course, but – thirties?” said Reggie. “Forties perhaps?”

  Timms jotted in his notepad – looking rather exasperated, Kat observed.

  That description could apply to half the men in the country.

  “And this chap – this Coates – did you notice him at all while you were staying here?” said Timms.

  “In what way ‘notice’ him, Sergeant?” asked Claudia.

  “I mean, the fellow was Lady Lavinia’s driver here at Mydworth. I wonder, did you ever see him in the house? Hanging about upstairs perhaps – where he shouldn’t have been? Anything suspicious?”

  “No,” said Claudia. “He may have been the driver here, but I’d never seen him before in my life.”

  “Me neither,” said Reggie. “And – I’ll tell you one thing, Sergeant – I’m glad I never shall again.”

  A movement at the door – and Kat saw that the young constable had appeared. Benton motioned him across to Sergeant Timms.

  The constable leaned close and whispered something to his superior while everyone waited.

  Lavinia came beside them and touched Lady Tamworth’s shoulder. “Reggie and Claudia, you must be terribly shaken. Anything I can do for you? Anything at all?”

  Kat wondered: Did Lavinia feel some responsibility for this robbery? The shooting?

  Her house, her driver.

  So far, she didn’t seem shaken. But Kat guessed that people of her rank, in this country, were masters of the art of dissembling.

  “No – I just hope that the authorities can find the blighter!” Reggie said.

  “And get our jewels back,” Claudia added.

  At which point, Timms turned back to everyone, his private consult with Constable Thomas over.

  “The coroner is on his way. With another constable who will stay in the garden tonight. Now,” he looked down at his pad, “perhaps a last question or two, and then I can leave you good people be.”

  “Of course,” said Reggie. Then, as if an afterthought, “I say – you don’t think I’ll get into any trouble, will I? You know, for…”

  Kat watched Timms close his notepad. “Oh, I very much doubt that, sir. Looks like a pretty clear case of robbery to me. And you did what any gentleman would do in the circumstances.”

  Reggie looked relieved. Kat saw Claudia take his hand and give it a squeeze.

  The two of them were clearly both still in a state of shock.

  And Kat thought: Revolvers at the ready… Woe betide anyone who tries to steal from the English upper classes.

  That’ll never end well.

  *

  Aunt Lavinia had given orders to Benton and the staff to – at last – serve dinner. And though Harry was famished, he stayed back with Kat while his aunt saw to things.

  “You okay, Kat? I mean, hardly the best example of quiet English country life, hmm?”

  “Well – take out the jewels and the m’lords and m’ladies – and it’s pretty run of the mill for a Saturday night in the Bronx when I was growing up.”

  “I’ll bet. And I imagine when you helped your dad at – what was it called again?”

  “The Lucky Shamrock.”

  “Yes, I imagine you saw some of the seedier sides of life?”

  “That I did. Did I ever tell you about that time that I personally ejected two drunks who were using the bar as a boxing ring?”

  “Hmm. All that horseback riding in the park in New York too. Very physical. Came in handy, hmm?”

  And he was glad to see Kat laugh at this. He often thought that – amidst all her other terrific attributes – it was her laugh that had really won him over.

  Then Lavinia came back: “There. All arranged. I think the duck’s a little dry, but the vegetables – well not much harm can come to boiled peas and carrots. And to be honest, after all the extra cocktails, and that rather lurid tale, I’m not sure this lot will notice.”

  She shot a look back to the dining room.

  “Look, Harry,” then more slowly, “and Katherine. Such a dreadful mess for you to walk into.”

  “Seen messes before, Aunt Lavinia.”

  “Yes. Well, I’ve asked the housekeeper to prepare a room for you. And one of the maids has found a change of clothes for you, Katherine my dear. I do believe she’s found you a pair of shoes too.”

  “Very kind of you, Lavinia,” said Kat.

  “Oh, they’re just hand-me-downs, you know. But I’m sure they’ll pass muster for tonight.”

  Harry caught his aunt’s eye and smiled, then turned to Kat.

  “If I know Aunt Lavinia those, um, hand-me-downs will be haute-couture from Paris.”

  “Pyjamas too, and all that,” said Lavinia, ignoring him. “You get yourselves washed and brushed, then come down directly and eat.”

  Harry watched Kat smile. “That would be fantastic. It has been an incredibly long day.”

  “I’m sure. But one thing. Before I return to my guests…”

  “Yes?”

  “This robbery, the killing. My driver! And well, I’ve seen our local police in action…”

  “He does have a note pad!” Harry said.

  Lavinia gave that the smallest of smiles.

  “I’m just afraid of where this may go. The other robber that they may, or may not, find. I fear that perhaps…”

  “Someone on the staff is involved?” said Harry, finishing his aunt’s sentence for her.

  “Exactly. I can’t imagine what that would do to the family name. Our… reputation.”

  Harry anticipated what she was about to say.

  “You’d like me to look into things a bit? Stay on top of it?”

  Lavinia reached out and grabbed Harry’s hand. “Oh, Harry – would you?”

  “And Kat as well.” At that, Harry wasn’t sure he had Lavinia’s total agreement, but he leaned close to his aunt. “My wife can handle herself, you know. Out in Cairo, working for the State Department – it wasn’t all organising champagne and canapés.”

  Harry decided it was best for now to omit mentioning her time helping her dad at The Lucky Shamrock Bar and Grill.

  Lavinia nodded. And Harry was reminded of how much he cared for this woman, who had raised him after his parents died when he was a boy.

  He would do anything for her.

  “Yes. Certainly. Glad to help as well,” Kat said.

  “Good then, settled. Dinner in twenty minutes? And hopefully everyone will then make an early night of it.”

  And Lavinia turned, and went into the dining room where – from the clinks of glasses, and the sound of cutlery doing battle with Lavinia’s china – the party had to some extent resumed.

  Harry turned to Kat. “Twenty minutes eh? Think you can break your own record for getting dressed?”

  “Show me the room and I’ll be ready in ten. Can’t promise how clean I’ll be though.”

  “You’re such a romantic, Kat,” said Harry, taking her arm and leading her to the stairs.

  “Play your cards right and I might even put some real effort in – maybe get all this straw out my hair.”

  8. A Hunt for the Second Man

  Kat turned out the light of the side dressing room and walked into the expansive bedroom where Harry was sitting up in bed, reading some random book pulled from a nearby bookcase. She stood at the foot of the bed as he carried on reading.

  The slightest rumble from her throat.

  He finally looked up.

  “Well, now that is a sight. Even more of a sight than that dress of Lavinia’s you wore to dinner.”

  Lavinia’s maid had left the pyjamas on the bed, but they certainly were not any style tha
t Kat had worn before.

  “Must say, Harry. Dressed in these, I feel like I’m in the Forbidden City and not Sussex.”

  “Yes, I suppose ‘chinoiserie’ is all the rage these days. And I must admit – you do look like you would fit in quite nicely in old Peking.” Harry paused a moment. “And I also have to admit, altogether… fetching.”

  Kat reminded herself. This is Lavinia’s house – the floor full of guests. Still – this was their first night in what was to be their homeland…

  “Well, then,” she said, taking a step closer, when there was a knock at the door.

  And she watched Harry hop off the bed and hurry over to answer it.

  *

  “Benton?” Harry said.

  The butler stood at the door, holding a silver tray, two chiselled glasses, a soda syphon and a small silver container of ice.

  Kat, resplendent in satiny swirls of red and green, came and stood beside him.

  “Lady Lavinia, sir.” He tilted his head towards the tray. “She asked that I bring you and Lady Mortimer two whiskies.”

  “Well, yes,’ Harry said, opening the door all the way. “It has been that kind of day. And how thoughtful. You can, um, put the tray on the table by the window.”

  He looked at Kat. Then said: “My aunt always tends to the important things.”

  The tray placed, Benton came back.

  “Will there be anything else, sir?”

  And Harry had an idea. If his aunt wanted him to look into things… he’d best waste no time.

  “In fact, there is. Could I,” Harry walked to the door, and shut it, “trouble you with a few questions?”

  He studied the butler’s face to see if the man registered any surprise.

  But, ever stoic, Benton simply said, “Of course, sir.”

  Harry shot Kat a glance. If they were doing this together, it would be good to have her by his side. After all, the United States had good reason to post her to embassies around the world. To use a phrase he’d learned from her: She was one smart cookie – no doubt about that.

  *

  Kat could guess what Harry was up to. When someone on the house’s staff robs a guest – and is shot dead – might as well start talking with the person who actually runs the household.